When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968 the reaction around the country ranged from peaceful demonstrations to more violent protests. This was true in Hartford as well, where scenes of peaceful memorial services were juxtaposed with looting and destruction and looting in the North End. The following summer the violence started again and for four nights in June 1969, Hartford erupted with with looting, shootings and the destruction of businesses, before the mayor's state of emergency and a curfew calmed the storm.